“If the average house price is $1.9 million on the north shore, there really isn’t much available for those who don’t want to live in apartment blocks,” he said. “A lot of downsizers don’t want huge strata fees and since they are used to living in houses, they want something smaller like a villa with a garden.”

These types of developments were not being built because it was difficult to get approvals, he said.

“For developers its difficult to get approval for villas as council doesn’t allow subdivisions into smaller blocks,” he claimed.

Mr Zammit said he has spoken to many would-be downsizers who wanted to sell but couldn’t afford to buy in the same area.

“Unless they have a $3 million home, many would love to downsize, but can’t afford anything in the area that suits their needs, so they stay put, which makes it hard for families to buy houses,” he said.

McConnell Bourn selling agent Scott Farquhuar said options were limited for downsizers wanting to stay on the upper north shore.

“Trying to get a free standing single level property, with an easy to care garden, walking distance to the station is really hard to find,” he said. “While there are apartments around, most downsizers don’t want that, as they come from large houses on a big block.”

Mr Farquhuar said while it Is what it is, it does make it hard for downsizers to stay in their community.

“If they do find something, it is most likely going to be hotly contested,” he said.

Downsizers Tom and Linda Greene said finding a suitable north shore place was hard to come by.

“The choices were certainly limited in the price/size/quality combinations that we were looking for on the north shore,” he said.

The couple are planning to move from a two-storey Walsh Bay penthouse into one of the 14 two- and three-bedroom apartments on offer at MERA in Cammeray, which is due to be completed by 2019.

“We loved the MERA development, as having everything brand-new and fresh was what we wanted,” Mrs Greene said.

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Central Element

Central Element is a leading property developer based in Sydney. We specialise in delivering high quality developments. Our portfolio comprises New Homes, New Apartments, Boutique Residential Apartments and Hotel Developments, all in locations hand-picked for their live ability and enduring value.